Twitter Hosts Pro-Female Genital Mutilation Ad

Some are raising eyebrows after spotting an ad on Twitter advertising a pro-female genital mutilation stance.

“Sorry, what?! is carrying an ad FOR female genital mutilation? ,” said Ingrid Srinath, Director of the Centre for Social Impact & Philanthropy at Ashoka University in Sonipat, Haryana, India.

Srinath attached a screenshot of the ad, promoted by a group called Dawoodi Bohra Women for Religious Freedom. Bohra is a part of India that is heavily populated with Muslims.

“‘My daughters have also undergone khafz, and they’re growing up as perfectly as other children their age. As a mother, I can never do anything to harm them,’ says Arwa Sohangpurwala, Chartered Accountant, Kolkata,” the ad said.

Khafz is the practice of female circumcision, which the “Religious Freedom” group argued is not female genital mutilation, using the hashtag #FCisNotFGM.

But in reality, there is no difference. Both practices involve removing the clitoris from young girls. The United Nations recognizes no difference between the two.

According to Times Now News, a 24 hour news agency in India, 75% of Bohra women have undergone khafz.

“They call it the ‘haraam ki boti’ or ‘the source of sin’  and even before the young girl is able to make sense of what is happening to her, they have already sniped it, and in the process mutilated her. This is a reality for an alarming number of girls, belonging to the Muslim Bohra community, in India, whose family members decided to get their clitoris cut in the name of tradition and religion,” according to the news agency.

The practice is considered to be torture by the World Health Organization.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a fundamentalist Muslim, owns about 5% of Twitter, according to CNBC.

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